Tooth Brace: check up 4

Check up 4 and 7 months into my orthodontic treatment. I can't believe how time has flown. This was pretty much another bog standard check up. Nothing much to report except we're still trying to get my left hand upper teeth to move further over to the left I to the space where I had a tooth removed. This will mean she can then move my two front teeth around so that they're centred. Phew, what a mouthful that was.

It was pretty much a "nope, we've still got about 4mm to move" so she changed the e-wire stuff and tightened it a little so that it pulled on my upper incisors. Not much pain, only if I chew on those teeth. Otherwise she's happy the way they are going. It'll take another few months apparently, but they never said this was going to be a quick process. I'm fine with that. I can wait for a (near) perfect smile.

Talking of which, I just can't seem to stop smiling now. I'm not ashamed of brace wearing in my 30's. In fact, I think I would kind of miss it if it were taken off tomorrow. That seems weird saying that but I do feel like that.

I read a really good interview with a guy called Chris Millington over on Garçon Jon's blog, go over and have a read, fabulous photos too! Anyway, Chris is kind of recognisable now for his AMAZING beard. I mean he's not exactly unhandsome but with the beard, well it's like it's what makes him even more recognisable. I've always thought mine was my curly hair. But now I think it's the brace and the curly hair, oh and the big glasses. I'm a picture, me ;) Anyway, Chris says in the interview that his beard has given him incredible confidence, which I can identify with. Although replace his beard with my brace. You get my drift.

I feel like I can smile more and I want to smile more which is amazing for me. I'm not bothered if people stare at my mouth now. Whereas before I would always kind of hide my mouth and shy away if talking to someone new. I was always conscious of my squint front tooth, my crooked smile, my sticky out teeth. Now? Now I love them with the brace and I'm sure I will absolutely double love them without the brace. Is this making sense? It is to me.

Keep smiling,
Angela

Teeth Brace: Check up 3

I actually had my third 8-weekly check-up at the orthodontist two weeks ago. I was in and out in a flash (about 10 minutes to be exact).

She seems to be happy with the progress and never changed the main wire. Probably because it was the thicker one she put in the last time. What is causing some concern is the gap the appears between my two front teeth. I don't mind the gap which may or may not be there upon removal of the brace. What she said is that it still isn't in the right place. It's a bit off centre to the right hand side. Your two front teeth should meet nicely just below the tip of your cupid's bow top lip (or in line with the tip of your nose. Providing your nose isn't wonky). Mine's don't.

Excuse the up-the-nose shot below, but look at my cool Ray Ban Aviators! *winkey eye face*

Gap, nearly gone, and a bit off centre.

It isn't really a big deal but she would like it dead centre. And maybe i would too. She removed the thicker e-chain plastic loops she'd put in on both sides and only replaced the left hand side one to try to force-pull those teeth around. There's space for them to move to too, it's just the moving part that's taking some time.

Excuse the weird colour. My skin isn't great just now.

There wasn't much pain this time but i can definitely feel the teeth are tender and moving a little. The gap appears to have closed at the bottom, but that usually happens and then they separate again.

I still can't get over that this little magical metal contraption can actually move your teeth within a few days. It's a feat of engineering to say the least. Below are some (not very flattering) pictures of before and after check up number 3.

That's nearly six months I've had the brace on. Only another 18 to go! But when you look back at this post you can see just how far the teeth have moved. 'mazin'.

Oh, and I found this fantastic video on YouTube about adult braces from two Australian girls. They explain everything really well - beware, there are a few sweary words in there so if that offends you, you'd best not look.



Angela x

Teeth Brace: Month 2

I had my second 8-week brace adjustment appointment with my orthodontist last week. So I'm now 16 weeks in to my 2 year brace life. I've come to like attending the hospital for these appointments (I go to the hospital as it's the NHS treatment I'm receiving). I'm in and out in about 15 minutes for these appointments. All very efficient.

A gap had formed where my troublesome front tooth had been straightened up a little bit. Remember my front left tooth had a severe squint overhang of the right front tooth. After my last appointment the left tooth had straightened out a little and had given me a gap in between my two front teeth. It was kind of quirky. I'm not that bothered abut a gap, so long as it didn't develop into a severe gap. The only problem with this gap is that it's is off centre. Like a good 3mm off centre to the right hand side. Anyone looking probably wouldn't notice this but in orthodontics, every millimetre counts.

To combat this gap and right hand side pull she inserted a thicker wire as she wanted the teeth to move in a different way and for the upper arch to expand a little. I was told the front gap might get worse before it gets better but that this was fine as the teeth need to be straightened up first and then pulled into line, so to speak.

She also attached some joined up plastic loops on the side wires where there are huge gasp due to the teeth I had removed back in January. The technical term is e-chain plastic. It's basically to close the gaps, and also protects the slightly thinner side wires. So my large side gaps will close a little bit, meaning the front teeth can space out and straighten up properly. All very complex but an amazing piece of engineering when you think about it.

Lastly she added on some of the little rubber bands that hold the main wire onto each bracket. I chose the silver again. I was going to white or clear but they say the bands can get discoloured with food and general eating so silver is the safe option. Next time I might get a coloured one. Maybe!

See how they're kinda off-centre?

After each appointment my teeth are always a bit sensitive, but that's because they are moving again until they get used to the new adjustment. It means I can't really chew anything tougher than a piece of toast but I've managed to figure that if i cut my food into tiny pieces I can just about get away without too much pain when chewing.

After just a few days I can already see that the front tooth gap has gotten smaller. There's only really a space at the top now. I'm always amazed at how this metal contraption can move my teeth and the results I see so quickly.

After only a few short months, I can already see that my confidence has lifted a bit. I'm actually smiling wider than I thought my widest smile has ever been. I'm not afraid to show people the brace in the way that I always shy'd away from showing people my wonky teeth. Isn't that peculiar?

It's another 8 weeks until my next appointment. But for now I just have to keep on going with it. Clean my teeth thoroughly and try to cut down on the sugary drinks! Yikes. Cola and chocolate is my craving. Bad.

Angela x

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Teeth Brace: Month 1

It's been just over one month since I had my brace fitted. It's gone quickly, just another 23 months to go. It won't be long going in, will it?

On the day i had my brace fitted I was nervous and excited and apprehensive all in one. I had the day off work and met my sister and two nephews in town. They went to McDonalds. I didn't eat or drink. I didn't want to but also i wasn't allowed to for a few hours. Time to let the brace settle. It felt weird having this contraption in my mouth. I spoke with an impediment. It would take some getting used to. The boys weren't phased by my new metal mouth. That's lucky because I think Ryan may need one when he's a bit older and i want him to know that it's fine to wear a brace, if his really cool auntie can wear one then anyone can ;)

Anyway, I waited for this tooth ache to come along. I was sure it would hit me when I was midway through that evenings episode of Emmerdale Farm. It never arrived. Emmerdale was good though. It was strange. The only thing I was feeling was slightly uncomfortable but not through pain, through the fact that there is this thing attached to my teeth. More of an awareness of something being there, rather than anything painful.

For days I ate soup. Lentil soup. Vegetable soup. Broth. Chicken. Moroccan chicken. Spiced chicken. Chicken. I highly recommend the Covent Garden Coup Co Lentil soup. Spicy, thick and really tasty. A hug in a bowl.

Everything was going smoothly as far as I was concerned. Then I went to spin class. I was in the middle of a tricky hill section and needed a drink so went to take a sig from my bottle and OUCH. I have a Camelbak bottle with a bite valve on it. You need to bite the rubber valve to open it and suck the water out. Biting was a problem. You see with me eating mushy Weetabix for breakfast and my soups for lunch and dinner, I hadn't bitten anything for days. Until now, and ouch! I realised that my teeth were very sensitive to bite down on anything. It wasn't until seven days later I was able to bite using my canine teeth. Definitely not the front teeth, and only biting into something relatively soft.

Once I'd mastered that biting and chewing technique I was fine for a few more days. As the weeks have passed my teeth have become less sensitive. I've had no real aches in my gums. There are certain teeth that are more sensitive on different days. It started on the right hand side and has slowly moved around to my left hand side. I think that must be the teeth moving process in full effect though.

What i have been getting is sores on the insides of my cheeks. Again only on certain days, and mostly on the right had side cheek. There's a wire sticking out on the back tooth so i think i'll get her to trim that when I have my next orthodontic appointment.

I'm obsessed with my teeth brushing routine now. It takes a good 10 minutes so if i'm going anywhere i have to allow for that time to brush my teeth. I started with my small headed toothbrush and brush the teeth above the brace, angling the brush downwards to get behind the metal. I then brush below the metal and brackets. All the while using small circular motions. The back teeth are a bit more tricky. I already have an overcrowded mouth, now with the metal brace it means i have to really angel the brush to get in there. Next i brush the backs of my teeth. I can be pretty hard here as there's no metal, just a bit of sensitivity. I then take my little wire Tandex tapered brush, put a small amount of toothpaste on it and brush between each bracket behind the wires using an up and down motion. Just making sure to get between the teeth. I spend a few minutes on this. Finally i brush my bottom teeth as I normally would using my electric toothbrush. I can't use the electric toothbrush on the brace just incase it damages it. After all that i'm done. It sounds a bit of a palaver but I just want to make sure my teeth are clean. They may not be the whitest teeth but i want to keep them clean as the metal of the brace can make them look dark.

I've made up a little toiletry bag (see below) that I carry with me so i have two of everything, small headed toothbrush, little Tandex tapered brush, mini toothpaste (sensodyne pronamel & Colgate Total, floss, silicone brace wax and a mirror. I've used the brace wax a couple of times, mostly on that piece of wire sticking out the back tooth. It covers any sharp edges and helps prevent sores on the insides of my cheeks or the underside of my lips.

Floozie toiletry bag, bought in Debenhams sale for £2.80!

My next orthodontist appointment is 11 April where I think they'll take this wire out and put a new one in and tighten it. At least I think that's what happens.

I keep checking in the mirror to see if i can see a difference yet but with me only being one month into a 24 month treatment i doubt i'll see anything just now. However, I can definitely feel that something's happening.

Anyway, i'll update again next month.

Angela x

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Braces make beautiful faces

I was feeling a little forlorn today. Tomorrow is the day I finally have my brace fitted. Teeth brace, not a back, leg or neck brace! Glad to report that my mouth seems to have healed up nicely after having the two teeth removed so that my teeth have room to move in my mouth.

I'm a bit nervous about having the brace fitted. I mean, I'm a 35 year old woman. You might wonder why? Why? Because I want to be able to smile more all day. Simple.

For as long as I can remember, probably since my awkward teenage years, I've been self conscious about my teeth. Ordinarily most people won't even notice them, but for me it's always there in the back of my mind. That, together with my already crippling shyness means that I'm not very talkative to people that I don't really know. Hence one of the reasons why I blog. I can talk to y'all here on this blog and various social networks without thinking that I need to try to somehow hide my teeth or show how shy I really am.

With that being said, this is something that I need to do. It'll be a long journey, two years the orthodontist estimated (I have a severe overbite, crossbites, small jaw, jaw too far back...the list goes on), but I hope that by the end I will have gained a new smile and perhaps a little more confidence.

Whilst browsing for images of braces the other day I came across a couple of really nice blogs from girls and their brace-wearing journeys. I've decided I'm going to log my journey here too. Maybe monthly updates and photos to see if we can see the process of teeth straightening taking shape.

Let's start with this. This is me on Friday after a monster laughing session at work.

As you can see one front tooth overlaps the other and the incisor is turned. That's really the only thing that bothers me. That squinty front tooth. So, if you see me from the right hand side, there's a gap. A gap that over the years has gotten wider and more squint.

I'm using this beautiful photo (below) as my inspiration and hope that people can see past the brace, the curly hair and the glasses.



I'd like to know if there are any of you out there that have been adult wearers of braces? I remember a few years ago, king of the sprint himself Mr Mark Cavendish had a mouthful as did Gwen Stefani (Google it) and look at them now! Heart.

On that note, I'll leave you with this from Snoopy. Wise lil Snoopy :D




Angela x
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1 week, post dentist

It's been a week since I got two teeth out at the dentist. I never told you that story. But don't worry there's no gory details, except to say that beforehand i was quite anxious, or maybe just nervous about it. I hadn't had a tooth out since I was a child, many moons ago, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Add to this the fact that I'd saw Les Miserables last Sunday and there was a scene where Fantine was in a ghetto, had just had her hair cut off and then had a tooth pulled out by some vagabond for money to send to her sweet Cosette. That looked painful. I didn't want my experience to be like that!

I arrived five minutes early for my appointment, took my seat in the waiting room then a receptionist came through to say that my dentist was running half an hour late and did I want to wait or come back? I waited. I read some blogs to take my mind off it.

Twenty minutes later the dentist called me. He explained what he'd be doing then gave me the jags to numb my gums. One in the front of my gums on upper left and right and then another larger needle on the upper left and right palette area. Ouch, that was sore as he pushed the stinky numbing liquid in. About five minutes later I felt it go numb and realised my mouth was becoming twisted. Also my palette seemed swollen. I asked how long it would take to get each tooth out 'how long is a piece of string?' he quipped. There's no time for silly jokes I thought. Breathe. Here we go...

He gave me safety specs and I shut my eyes as tight as I could. First of all he was in with some sort of implement pushing at the first tooth. Front and back. Pushing. Manoeuvring. Lightly at first and then harder. There was no pain. Once he was satisfied with the he changed implement. I could tell it was some type of pliers. Eek!

I could feel them gripping the tooth. Still no pain though. He was twisting, and twisting, and twisting. One direction, then the other. He gave a big twist and I put my hand up for him to stop (we'd agreed hand signals beforehand). He gasped 'can you feel pain?'. No I replied, but it feels like your about to twist the lid off a tight jam jar and I just don't want to feel that pain when it pops. You won't feel pain but you may hear it! Gah.

In he went again, and with on final twist the tooth eased and out it came. No pain but yes, a faint weird crunch noise. Phew. That wasn't too bad. Yay I'm brave.

Now it was onto the left hand side. This was a biggie. A molar with four healthy roots and a huge filling. He warned me that this one would be harder to get out, and with it being heavily filled it may break up too. Yikes. In he went again with stick to loosen it. Then again with the pliers. He was tugging good style with this tooth and it wasn't for budging. Then it went, and this time I heard a huge crunch and out it came. I definitely thought it had disintegrated but when i eventually sat up it was still intact except the filling had fallen out. I was taking deep breaths through my nose all the way through and I think that helped me.

After a rinse (there wasn't too much blood) I lay back down on the chair and he inserted a couple of bits of gauze into the wounds for me to bite on. He explained I should take two paracetamol when I got home with a sip of water. I should wait an hour to drink, preferably just water. No hot drinks or spicy/hot food today, and if it continued to bleed I should call them. He sent me on my way with two bits of clean gauze and my two teeth in a tooth fairy envelope.

tooth fairy

When I got home it was just passed 1pm so all in all I must have only been in his chair for fifteen minutes. Not bad at all. I still wasn't having any pain but my mouth was really twisted. My palette still felt weird and swollen. My tongue was doing weird things all by itself. I sipped on some water through a straw and relaxed.

excuse me and my wonky numb post dental appointment mouth

It took me a couple of hours to look in the mirror. I pictured a huge gappy smile but actually, unless I smile really unnaturally wide then you can't really tell where the teeth were. I was satisfied with that. It wasn't until about 7pm that I took two painkillers and that was as a precaution.

As the days have passed I got used to having the gaps in my mouth. It does feel weird though as you don't realise where your tongue goes in your mouth with a full set of teeth. The upper right gum and palette is still a bit sensitive and I can't really use it to bite anything so eating is still a bit difficult.

A week on and I'm glad I went through with it. A few to go until my orthodontist appointment to have the brace fitted and there's no turning back now. Have any of you had braces?

Angela x

It's all about a smile

Tomorrow I'm going to the dentist. I'm having two of my top teeth removed. One on each side. There's nothing particularly wrong with these teeth. Despite them both having root treatment, they aren't giving me pain or toothache. But I need to have them removed as part of a procedure.

I've been attending the hospital since last November about my teeth and after a few months worth of shifting the dental appointments and orthodontist appointments, tomorrow has arrived all too soon.

It's been many many years since I've actually had a tooth removed by a dentist. And even then I was put to sleep while they carried out the procedure. I remember i was about four or five years old and still at nursery. My mum dressed me in a little green dress I'd worn to my aunts wedding and I had bunches in my hair. Bunches is what we call ponytails. Bunches.

Anyway, I can't remember much about that dental visit except waking up and going home to get tomato soup. I'm really nervous about tomorrow. I don't think they'll put me to sleep. You have to go to the hospital to get that procedure now, i think. Hopefully I'll have plenty of anaesthetic. I don't think it's that that is bothering me. It's the tugging or noise or the taste of blood. Gah! I don't think i could cope with the tugging. If my head actually was pulled when they're taking them out. I'm hoping it'll be over in a flash, or at least in about ten minutes. I've stocked up on painkillers for afterwards, I'll probably need them.

You might be wondering why I'd put myself through this is they are reasonably healthy teeth. Maybe not. Well I'm having other work done in February. At the hospital. By the orthodontist. I hate to say what it is because it might seem a bit vain but it is something that has bothered me my whole adult life.

If I'm honest, I'm kind of ashamed of it but it would be like if someone thought they had a big nose or tiny boobs and went and got them 'fixed'. Most people who go through those procedures might say those things would give them more confidence. I suppose that's why I'm doing this. I should've done it years ago but my previous dentists were always like 'oh no, you're teeth are fine, let's just whiten them. That'll be £375 please!' and I was like 'no thank you'. But then I got a new dentist about 2 years ago and after a check up he actually sat and asked me about my teeth and if there was anything i didn't like. I took this as my opportunity. I told him and he said he'd refer me to a private orthodontist but it would cost £55 for an initial appointment. I agreed and I headed to that place. £55! It was sore handing that over for what amounted to about 9 minutes of this guy's time. After prodding about my mouth and asking me a few questions he decided the only method to get rid of the thing I didn't like was to have an operation to move my lower jaw forward! I was like 'you gotta be joking mate'! He was dead serious.

It would involve going into my lower gum at the back, breaking my jaw, resetting it and on top of that I'd get teeth out afterwards and then need to wear something else. It would cost about £20k but it'd be done on the NHS. I mean come on... As If I'd waste the NHS money on getting a procedure that frankly is cosmetic. He said he'd refer me to the hospital orthodontic team and I'd have to wait a while on the appointment. I discussed this idea with my mum and we agreed that this way was not an option. No way.

My hospital appointment came through. 5 months to wait. When I attended for that I got a young Irish (kinda hot) orthodontist who was in training. He filled in the forms. Asked me the questions. Suggested the operation. I said under no circumstances. Then he suggested the brace. A brace. A BRACE. I knew that's what would end up happening anyway. He took lots of pictures of my smile, my mouth, my open mouth, my closed mouth, my teeth close up, my upper teeth, my lower teeth and (wait for this) my incompetent lips. I must have looked puzzled. He said don't worry, ignore it, it's technical talk. From what i gather it means that my lips don't meet up exactly when close. But who's does?! After that I joked that he'd better not put those horrid photos all over Facebook. He laughed.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I'm having two teeth removed because in a few weeks time I'm having a brace fitted. We're talking full on Ugly Betty style track brace. So please, help a girl out. Don't cross the road if you see me. Don't make fun of me. And most of all, don't give me toffee's.

Angela x

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